Using steam to prepare food is well known. The use of steam affords several benefits over other cooking methods, such as boiling, frying, etc., particularly because no fat (e.g., cooking oil, butter, margarine, etc.) is required in the process.
Conventional steamer inserts are designed for use in conventional saucepans having a capacity of about two quarts or greater. To use such an insert, the saucepan is first filled with an appropriate amount of water, and then the insert is placed within the saucepan. The bottom surface of the insert is maintained above the level of the water in the saucepan. In some configurations, the steamer has an outturned upper lip that engages the side of the saucepan to support the insert above the level of the water. In other configurations, the steamer insert has legs extending from its bottom surface that support the steamer above the level of the water.
Although these conventional steamer inserts are adequate for some steaming applications, e.g., steaming vegetables, they do not allow the preparer to access the food on the steamer surface easily and without injury (e.g., through burning or scalding). In particular, because conventional steamer inserts are designed with use in saucepans having a substantial depth, a preparer attempting to access food on the steaming surface must approach the steaming surface from directly above. U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,017 to Feld shows one example of a conventional steamer insert for use with a saucepan having a substantial depth.
Using a skillet as the container for the water in a steaming process has certain advantages. For one, a conventional skillet is arguably the most common kitchen utensil in modern kitchens. U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,905 to Johnson discloses a food steaming apparatus consisting of a plate that rests over the lip of a conventional skillet or, depending on the diameter of the skillet, within the skillet by engaging its inner side. The plate is perforated with specially designed holes suitable for using the plate to steam tortillas.
Because the plate is flat, however, it is difficult to maintain other foods, e.g., such as vegetables, on the steaming surface during preparation (i.e., during dispensing of the food onto the steaming surface and moving the skillet during preparation). Also, if the plate must be set down within the skillet to engage the side wall of skillet, the plate can be difficult to remove. Further, because the holes extend over the entire surface of the plate, there is no region where fully prepared food can be moved while continuing to steam other food.
Also known is a kitchen utensil or spatter guard designed to nest within and extend outward over a rim of a conventional skillet. Such a spatter guard is shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,439,603.
It would be desirable to provide a steamer insert and steamer assembly useful for steaming food in a conventional skillet and allowing the preparer to access and attend to the food during the steaming process. Further, it would be advantageous to provide an area on the steamer assembly that would allow the preparer to separate fully steamed food from food requiring further steaming.